Adiam Pack
The Adiam Pack (also known as just the Adiam or the Pack) is an interstellar empire created by the "Great Dane" of the Fragile Peace/Alliances storyline, Lars Hansen, one of Joshua Underwood's fellow roleplayers. After asking for opinions on this Wiki entry, Underwood has been able to determine that the Pack was created in 1996, and Underwood himself has been aware of it since 2000. This information is as it pertains to the Fragile Peace/Alliances storyline. General Information Officially, very little is known of the Adiam, with the exception that they are a bipedal race described as "wolf-like" or "dog-like", their government is known as the Pack, and that their homeworld and capital is called Teryll. This has led Federation observers to refer to them as "werewolves" or, less kindly, "wild dogs". These perceptions are challenged by the great leaders, most notably UFP President Mikhail Britanov, Reydovan Chancellor Joshua Underwood, and Starfleet Admiral Kiran Joshmaul. Based on his meetings with their only known emissary, President Britanov believes that the Adiam are a peaceful and noble race, but can be formidable fighters when provoked. Unbeknownst to the human leaders, the Adiam control a powerful interstellar empire surrounding the galactic core, but with the largest expanse of their territory spanning the Gamma and Delta Quadrants. Teryll's location is officially unknown to the Federation but is believed to be somewhere in the Gamma Quadrant. While the Adiam are formidable fighters, their code is similar to that of the Federation - they do not attack unless they perceive a threat to their sovereignty. Diplomatic Relations At present, the Adiam have only made contact with two governments: The Federation and the Reydovan Empire. First Contact With The UFP The Adiam became known to the Federation - and, surprisingly, to the Reydovans - shortly after the rigged presidential election of Victor Manchester. An escape pod of some kind was discovered in Federation space by the U.S.S. Shadowcat, a Sovereign-class vessel in the Exploration division of Starfleet External Affairs. A lone survivor was discovered and treated by the Shadowcat's chief medical officer, Lieutenant Commander Rachel Vantine. Admiral Elizabeth Feinstein, then Director of External Affairs (who was assassinated in November 2375), was given the full report of the encounter. However, since the technology recovered by the Shadowcat involved Starfleet Operations, a report was also sent to its chief, Admiral Kiran Joshmaul. Upon her return to Earth, the Shadowcat turned the pod over to Starfleet Operations, where zealous members of Joshmaul's staff were all for tearing it apart to see what made it tick. However, Joshmaul had decided to meet first with the man who had been the pod's occupant, Chirann (later identified as Commander Chirann Koresh, of the Pack's military forces). Chirann was adamant that the pod be returned, untampered with by the engineers; Joshmaul gave him his word that no one would be allowed near the pod without his express permission. The Theft, and Raised Tensions While the pod was in Operations hands, agents of the supposedly-dead Artimus Devaneaux stole the pod and stored it onboard Artimus' personal flagship, the Hand of Artimus. An Adiam expeditionary force, called to retrieve Chirann, met with Joshmaul somewhere on the frontier and threatened to attack if the pod was not returned. Joshmaul managed to calm the agitated Adiam commander and identify the man who had stolen the pod, promising to personally take it from Artimus' grasp. This he finally did in November 2375. The tension grew as Dr. Vantine, the Shadowcat's CMO, was kidnapped by Chirann and indoctrinated into their society. Vantine eventually fell in love with her captor (which Joshmaul now cites as a classic case of Stockholm Syndrome) and, upon her return to the Shadowcat, announced her intention to accompany Chirann home. Her commanding officer, Captain John Yocum, refused to allow it, but Admiral Joshmaul realized that the doctor could possibly gain more insight into this race, and determine whether or not they would be friend or foe. Yocum protested vehemently against this, claiming Vantine had been brainwashed. Joshmaul, however, was adamant; he believed that it was Vantine's decision. Vantine herself confirmed Joshmaul's belief, and Captain Yocum grudgingly accepted. Dr. Vantine is still considered to be AWOL by Starfleet Command, and will be court-martialed if she either surrenders or is captured. Whether Admiral Joshmaul will be court-martialed as well for his involvement in the incident remains undetermined. However, it is unlikely that Vantine will ever be tried, with the diplomatic immunity granted by her position as the Federation ambassador to the Pack (see below). Forging A Friendship Over the following months, Vantine became the foremost expert on their language, customs, and traditions. In November 2375, she returned to Earth to meet with Joshmaul, her strongest supporter, and announced her intention to serve as Federation ambassador to the Adiam. Federation Councillor Mikhail Britanov, who had joined in the meeting, supported this gesture. Joshmaul, however, was less enthusiastic. Playing devil's advocate, Joshmaul argued that Vantine had grown too close to the Adiam, and particularly to Chirann, to be an effective ambassador. "An ambassador must be impartial," he had said. In addition, Vantine was a physician, not a diplomat; one with more experience was required to handle the job. Joshmaul recommended Britanov, who held the post de facto. (Britanov was never officially appointed, and he did not manage to leave for the Adiam homeworld before President Manchester appointed him Vice President in place of the missing Amanda Dowling.) A month went by after the meeting with no word from the Federation government. Then a communique from Britanov, now President, was sent to the Pack vessel Foundation of Courage, Chirann's flagship. Britanov asked that the commander and Dr. Vantine meet with him at his office in Paris. Kiran Joshmaul was also asked to attend, and once all three had arrived, Britanov explained that he had called the meeting for two reasons. First, he realized that there was no official ambassador to the Adiam, though Britanov himself was slated to take that post himself before he was recalled. Standing by his earlier beliefs, the President named Vantine as the official Federation ambassador, with the caveat that she give him unbiased reporting. "If something is wrong, you don't hide it, you tell me - and only me," Britanov told her. Ulterior Motives? The second reason was to inquire of a potential presidential visit to the Adiam homeworld, believing in the quid pro quo principle: Chirann had visited Earth on several occasions, so it would only be fair if Britanov were allowed the chance to visit the Adiam homeworld. Chirann informed the President that there would have to be arrangements made, but he gave his assurance that something would be done. Britanov said that he wished to better relations with them, and even offered the Pack potential membership in the Federation. Much to Britanov and Joshmaul's surprise, Chirann reciprocated the offer, giving the Federation the choice to join the Pack. Chirann's proposal, and the expression on Vantine's face as he made it, made Britanov concerned. Earlier in their meeting, Chirann had mentioned a "mission" in Federation space, but did not elaborate - which set off the warning bells in Britanov's head immediately. While Chirann seemed like a noble man, Britanov was concerned of his race's intentions for the Federation; would they attempt to force the Federation into joining them? In Starfleet's weakened state, even the Reydovan Empire under Artimus could have made that possible, even without the Omega-powered weapons the Empire had created in the 23rd century. Joshmaul, a silent observer to the meeting, was furious at the very notion of the Federation submitting itself to a foreign power, especially if it was the Adiam. While he had gotten along well with Chirann in their meetings, Joshmaul was by nature a very suspicious man, and in his 415 years of life his suspicion had often been proven right in the end. Joshmaul had long suspected Chirann - or rather, Chirann's race - of having an ulterior motive for this "so-called 'mission' into our space, spouting peace when in fact they're probably thinking of annexing us or something", as the Admiral reportedly said. Joshmaul was now beginning to think that Captain Yocum's original assessment was correct, that Vantine had in fact been affected in some way by Chirann while she nursed him onboard the Shadowcat. Something in her expression, believing in the possibility that the Adiam could rule the Federation, made Joshmaul even more doubtful that he had made the right decision. However, the President judged that the Adiam were not hostile because the Federation did not give them a reason for it, and that was enough for him. Increasing Beligerency In the months after that meeting, tensions began to rise; the Pack began expanding their colonial holdings uncomfortably close to Federation borders. Despite assurances from Ambassador Vantine that there was "nothing to worry about", that the expansion did not threaten the Federation, many in the Federation Council - Mikhail Britanov, ousted from the Presidency in January 2376, among them - and Starfleet Command began to suspect that this was an indication of greater things to come. Both Admiral Joshmaul and Councillor Britanov believed that Vantine should be removed from her post and subjected to a formal review before the Council - without her husband, Chirann. Britanov was of the belief that Vantine was now considered a traitor to the Federation, an aid to a hostile power, and should be tried as such. Others, like Joshmaul and General Neill, were somewhat more cautious; the penalty for treason and espionage had been and would always be death, regardless of the Federation's lack of a death penalty on the records. (The only Starfleet death penalty offense - violation of General Order 7, banning contact with Talos IV - was rescinded in 2375.) In early March 2376, the Pack annexed the Cardassian Union via under-the-table diplomatic means, which came as a complete shock when news reached the Council. Shortly thereafter, while carrying humanitarian aid to Cardassia, the starship Venture was fired upon by a Pack battle group; though damaged, the Federation starship managed to escape. A week later, the starship Solar Wind, on a reconnaissance mission near Cardassian space, was ambushed by a squadron of Cardassian ships, which were then attacked by another Pack battle group. The Solar Wind disengaged from the battle in order to prevent being caught up in what clearly was an internal battle. Concerned, General Neill recommended that the Starfleet Marine Corps be brought up to full readiness in the event of a war with the Pack or with any Cardassian attack groups. His superior, Admiral Daisuke Tokugawa, officially gave the order shortly before Neill departed for Reydovan Prime (the Ides of March campaign). At the same time, the Council began discussing the need for reconstructing and refitting Starfleet. One councillor, Jinan of Pacifica, inquired what the ambassador to the Pack was doing to prevent a diplomatic fiasco; Britanov informed her of what he had done, appointing Vantine as the ambassador even though she was clearly breaking every rule of ambassadorship by being so close to the people she would serve as ambassador to. Britanov emphasized that Vantine be recalled and made to answer for her apparent misconduct. Dark Truths In the weeks following the debate in the Council, Pack Speaker Keronn Tharash, along with Ambassador Vantine, demanded public apologies from Councillor Britanov for slander against the ambassador, and accusations that Vantine was acting as an agent of the Pack. Britanov declined to give any, instead adding fuel to the fire with more insults and accusations. By that time, Joshmaul was growing increasingly worried; this was not the Britanov he knew so well. On March 19, his suspicions were proven true, that it was some kind of scam: Britanov was found dead in his office in Paris, shot through the heart with a phaser blast. Performing an autopsy, following a hunch he had about the whole situation, Joshmaul was able to confirm that Britanov had, in fact, been replaced by his mirror counterpart. However, it was not the doing of Artimus Devaneaux; he reasoned that Artimus had no interest in the conflict with the Pack, merely in sparking the war between the Federation and the Reydovan Empire. (It was revealed later that a Federation official was one of Artimus' agents; that is more detailed later.) Since the Defiler was killed days earlier, Joshmaul believed that the most likely suspect was the man that Federation citizens had come to call the Great Betrayer: Artimus' former ally and leader of the Maquis, Charles Leyton. Through his agents in Starfleet and the Council, Leyton was able to determine how best to precipitate the conflict with the Pack that would wipe out Starfleet, and allow him to conquer Earth. He and Artimus had planned a great offensive against the Federation, involving using the Hand of Joshmaul weapon to threaten the destruction of Earth if it did not surrender. With Artimus dead, Leyton has been forced to handle the invasion plans himself, using guerrilla tactics against the Federation...or trickery, when the situation calls for it. Taking a page from Artimus' book, Leyton sent his agents to brutalize Councillor Britanov, and leave him for dead in his secluded dacha on the outskirts of Moscow. Then he replaced him with the mirror counterpart, who was brought up to speed on the galactic situation - and what he had been in this universe. Leyton intended to take Britanov's reputation and run it into the ground, just as Artimus had done to Underwood. For a time, it worked perfectly...but the deductive logical capacity of Kiran Joshmaul's quick mind managed to foil that plot quickly. Realizing that Joshmaul was growing increasingly suspicious - and his suspicions were often proven right - Leyton ordered the counterpart to be assassinated, and have Britanov's reputation die with him. But alert Marines stationed in the office building in Paris, seeing the Maquis assassin enter Britanov's office without an appointment, managed to kill the murderer before he could fully incinerate the body. They reported it to General Neill, who in turn went to Joshmaul. After hours of tests, Joshmaul confirmed his theory. Days later, the real Britanov was found, barely alive, and brought to Moscow for treatment. Allaying the Fears Joshmaul immediately called Chirann and Vantine to Moscow, revealed the living Britanov and the dead counterpart, and attempted to explain the events as he had deduced them. Joshmaul recounted his firsthand knowledge of James Kirk's encounter in the mirror universe, as well as his reading up on the incidents involving officers of Starbase Deep Space Nine and the U.S.S. Defiant. In addition, Joshmaul had downloaded Artimus' personal files from Castle Devaneaux before he destroyed it, and was able to determine that the Reydovan Empire existed in the mirror universe, too - and that the mirror Underwood, destroyed hours before Artimus was, had been the Emperor. Chirann was unconvinced; however, Vantine was a former Starfleet officer, and the mirror universe had been mentioned before. Within a week of that meeting, Chirann and Rachel were arrested for espionage and treason, respectively. Joshmaul met them at Starfleet Security's detention area, and despite being waylaid by the xenophobe Solicitor General, Captain Dawson Crenshaw, Joshmaul managed to give his assurance that he would try to work for their release. In order to avoid worsening conflicts with the Pack, Chirann was released, but Rachel was kept imprisoned until she could be tried. Crenshaw's Case Derails Due to the intervention of General Neill, Crenshaw's case was derailed by his own homicidal actions. During an apparent power outage at Starfleet Security, Crenshaw attempted to kill Dr. Vantine and the child she carried, in order to spark the war between the Federation and the Pack. The power outage was an elaborate deception by Neill in order to "dangle the bait", and Crenshaw took it without thinking it could be a trick...until it was too late. Vantine was released, all charges dropped with prejudice. In the examination that followed, it was revealed that Dawson Crenshaw was in fact an agent of the Empire of Defileron, and Artimus before that. Dr. Vantine has yet to officially take up her mantle as Federation Ambassador; at present she is onboard Neill's command ship, the Shenandoah, until she can return to the Adiam homeworld of Teryll with Chirann. Current Situation At present, relations between the Federation and the Adiam Pack remain civil, though there has been no official contact between the Pack embassy and the Federation Council since charges against Vantine were dropped. It is hoped, however, that a treaty will be decided between the Pack and the Federation; General Neill is one of the major advocates of such a treaty. External Links The Adiam Pack's website Category:RPG Category:Star Trek